Nairobi dwellers turn to day trips to escape city hustle

Most city dwellers wake up to the sound of their alarm clocks, followed by never-ending honking and hours in traffic, only to sit behind a screen for more hours before returning home to repeat it all over again.

This unhealthy cycle is one that many find themselves stuck in.

When such a person thinks about a place they have always wanted to visit, one gets discouraged by the expenses that will be incurred, the planning, whether they will get time off work and whether they will get a friend or relative to join them.

With all this to consider, the dream easily fades away. Fortunately, many individuals are making going out of town easier by building a community for anyone who wants to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

When Chintan Gohel completed his engineering degree at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in 2014, he took up photography, which was inspired by his father, who loved to take pictures when he was younger.

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“Photography and travel go hand in hand. If you want to take a photo of a lion, you will never capture that lion in your bedroom. You have to go out there to look for it. I had a friend called Zainab who wanted to travel as much as I did, but we realised we did not have the knowledge or funding to do so. Just travelling with the two of us was going to be tricky. We involved our friends, and soon they were inviting their friends who invited their friends, and before we knew it, we had formed Matembezi Travellers Club,” he says.

He recalls that the first trip planned in 2018 was almost a failure, but he appreciates that his friends were graceful enough to be patient as he began to learn the tricks and hacks of planning a successful day trip.

“We were only three people during this trip, but on the next trips, people became more supportive and we became more organised. Then the number grew to between 15 to 25 people,” says Chintan.

Now, the club has organised over 50 trips that have had over 1,600 adventurers. Their Instagram page has built a following through referrals to over 10,000 followers. Chintan’s love for visuals is seen in his captivating photos and videos of wildlife, scenery and travellers enjoying themselves, making it more enticing for people to book their trips.

“People need a push. If I tell people we should go to Lake Elementaita, they will ask what there is to see there. That is why photos and videos are an additional incentive. If I have never been to a site before, I make sure that I visit it before I plan the trip to be able to prepare well for it,” he explains.

Joanna Neema had joined the club on five trips before she became part of the organising committee. Her first trip was a one-day trip to Amboseli National Park which was rather ambitious she admits, as not all safaris can be day trips. She says it is possible, but not logical as travellers would end up spending more time on the road and getting back home very late at night.

“The only way to get the most out of the day trips is to have a very early start. By 6.30 am, you should be already out of Nairobi heading to your destination. For instance, Ngare Ndare is known for its blue waters, but if you get there late, you would find that other groups got into the water and made it murky,” says Joanna, adding that it is also quite a hike to get to the water.

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“On the day that we got there first, we left Nairobi as early as 4.30 am and it was worth it. When we got to the waterfall, everyone just stood there, no one wanted to tamper with the water because of how glorious and beautiful it was.”

Every trip she made was a first-time experience since she never had the chance to travel with such ease before. The trips range between Sh1,500 and Sh5,000 to visit hidden gems in Nairobi and neighbouring towns.

“I realised I am a waterfall girl when I first visited Aberdares Forest, which was my second trip. I never knew the tallest waterfall in Kenya was there,” she giggles, and adds, “I would have never gone there by myself. It is so hard to plan trips with people you are familiar with. That is what I came to realise. You know those trips that just stay in the group chat. I am in a group that has been planning a trip to Samburu for the last three years. I have already been to Samburu now with the club three times. It is very important to find a community that actually values travelling rather than a community that just thinks about it and keeps it as an idea that just circulates. I did not know how passionate I was about seeing new places and meeting new people until I was part of this group,” she said.

Just like her, many people who are scared of travelling on their own have found it easier to do so and become regular travellers, even making friends on their trips. Solo travel can be daunting if you do not know where to start, that is why Chintan recommends travelling in groups, which is safer. He also revealed that some people who met on their trips have gone ahead to get married, making it a great place to also meet a special someone.

Joanna says that the trips have changed her life by allowing her to meet diverse characters from all over the world. Her take is that it in turn gives you a level of humility.

“There is not a time that I came back from a waterfall destination and returned home with any stress or worry. There is just something about being in nature that gives you a release. I did not know how resilient I could be until I climbed Mount Longonot last year. It just showed me I can do almost anything,” she says.

She observes that most of their members are women. Some even travel while pregnant or with their infants. According to Forbes, 64 percent of global travellers are female. Whether they travel with their partners, their families and friends, solo or in groups, 80 percent of all travel decisions are made by women.

Just like Matembezi, Alex Kamau started Lets Drift in 2018 after he completed college.

“I found myself in a quarter-life crisis. I had just finished school and I was not so sure about what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I was not the typical ‘9 to 5’ type of person,” he explains.

He picked up photography and started sharing photos of his short trips on Instagram, which had become the go-to social media platform for visual content. It got people asking him about all the places he was visiting.

“I did not even charge anyone. I just let them tag along. I used to do that every Sunday and take them to these places they wanted to see. Then we started a WhatsApp group and named it ‘Drifting’. The idea was to find new places, have fun and go back home. It was not built to be a company. Later, I began charging as little as Sh100,” he explains.

What Alex noticed about the adventure space in Kenya was that it only catered to people who were looking for challenging experiences such as Mount Kenya. He realised that when most people thought about travelling, they thought that they needed to save for six months and go on a vacation.

“We tried to be like Bonfire Adventures and tried to organise trips to Masai Mara or the Coast, but it was not working. By the end of 2019, we decided that we did not want to be like everyone since our niche and strength is short day hikes within Nairobi or an hour or two away. You do not need to own a car. We just meet in town, hop into a matatu and go have some fun. Instead of waiting for six months for your vacation, you can go on a short trip that only takes four hours,” he explains.

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When the pandemic hit in 2020, most businesses were shut down but Lets Drift became a hit. People longed for the outdoors more than ever before, especially during lockdown when every social spot was closed. That is when hiking became so popular, even to those who had little to no interest before.

“In 2019, we would have only five people in a hike. In 2020, we had about 50. And the numbers kept on growing,” he says.

Alex set up a more interesting system to encourage people to go on more hikes. He offered a monthly subscription of Sh2, 000 which would allow them to choose to go on any of the 35 trips planned. Members can also subscribe quarterly at Sh5,000 and annually at Sh19,000. The trips are planned for every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“If they do not want to come every month, they do not have to pay the monthly subscription. It is not on an auto-renew basis,” he says.

The trips are categorised according to the level of difficulty especially if there is any intense hiking involved.

“We have people who have never experienced the outdoors or do not consider themselves fit enough, but they have enough recreational activities that they can do every weekend - either for mental, social or physical purposes. These are the beginners. But we still have the challenging hikes in the moderate and advanced levels for those who want to push themselves. We advise them on what shoes or gear to get according to the difficulty level,” he adds.

He says they have a portfolio of 130 trails that are found and manned by local guides who continue to find new ones within their localities.

“In 2023, we had around 7,000 people join us on hikes. We have seen a larger number of people since 2020 when we only had 50. One of the reasons is that urbanisation in Nairobi is posing a lot of challenges to adults in terms of mental wellness. Someone asked me who our competition is, and I told them Netflix. People are looking for healthier ways to spend their weekends other than binging on Netflix or clubbing,” he said.

Alex says that online discovery has made it easier for people to find travel clubs and communities to experience the outdoors as more people are inclined towards being more intentional about being mentally and physically fit.

Chintan from Matembezi Travellers Club says spending as much time in nature as they can is the core aim of his travel club.

“We are creatures that used to live in a natural environment. Now we live in an artificial one which is not the best because of the air, light and noise pollution, so, when we go out of the city, we are going to explore something innate in them, it is an escape from the monotony of their lives. When they go and see the waterfalls, some will say, ‘Let me just sit here and listen to the sound of the water falling.’ Some remove their shoes and walk barefoot in the grass.”

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